The field of the invention relates generally to noninvasive imaging and, more particularly, to imaging an area with an object using confocal photoacoustic imaging.
The capability of noninvasively imaging capillaries, the smallest blood vessels, in vivo has long been desired by biologists at least because it provides a window to study fundamental physiological phenomena, such as neurovascular coupling, on a microscopic level. Existing imaging modalities, however, are unable to simultaneously provide sensitivity, contrast, and spatial resolution sufficient to noninvasively image capillaries.